Surviving Suharto

“There are 302 people present, which constitutes more than two-thirds of the delegates and thereby legitimises an election,” Siswono Yudohusodo, the chairman of the special party Congress here, told the members.

Delegates said the race had been close, with delegates saying only hours before the vote that Tanjung was slightly ahead with 15 assured votes, and Sudrajattrailing with 11.

Tanjung, a Muslim born in the province of North Sumatra, is generally considered closer to Suharto’s successor President B.J. Habibie than Sudrajat, and some saw it as a victory for Habibie.

Tanjung said on Friday he would be prepared to give up his position of state secretary if the party wished him to. A student leader in his youth, Tanjung has been a member of Golkar for 21 years. He represented East Java in 1977. In 1988, when he became minister of youth and sports under Suharto, he became a member of the now-defunct board of patrons of the party.

He also served as minister of housing from 1993 through 1998, and was appointed as state secretary by Habibie after Suharto stepped down on May 21. Earlier on Saturday, the Congress approved a sub-committee decision taken on Friday to abolish the Board of Patrons headed by ousted President Suharto. That move officially severed Suharto’s links with Golkar, whose ability to survive without him has been questioned.

The Congress also sawthe departure of Suharto’s daughter Siti `Tutut’ Hardiyanti Rukmana, one of the five members of the outgoing leadership board which officially ended its tenure on Friday.

Suharto’s son, Bambang Trihartmojo, remained treasurer, but he too was expected to be dumped as Tanjung appointed new staff. On Friday, the Congress said Golkar had decided to turn itself into a “real” political party, and raised the possibility of Tanjung becoming a candidate for the presidency of the country.

“In the United States, England (sic) and Malaysia, party leaders become heads of state, it should be the same here too,” said party deputy chairman Abdul Gafur. Small groups of student demonstrators who have picketed the three-day Congress daily since it convened on Thursday, have called for the party to dissolve itself, calling it a remnant of the 32-year-long Suharto era.

Incumbent Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, who was handed the presidency by Suharto when the veteran leader stepped down under mounting pressure forreform on May 21, has pledged to hold elections next year.

According to the Indonesian political system, after the elections to the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), the MPR would then choose a President.